Chapter 3: Refuge Resources and Current Management 3. Refuge Resources and Current Management This chapter provides a detailed description of the Refuge, its habitats, the species that occur, how habitat and species are managed, and the recreational opportunities it offers. 3.1 Landscape Setting To effectively achieve the National Wildlife Refuge System mission of conserving fish, wildlife, and their habitats, the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge took a landscape-scale approach to identifying Refuge resources, issues, and management direction. The Refuge is one small portion of land within a larger landscape and, as such, looked beyond its boundaries to determine its role in the larger conservation effort. This section describes the landscape setting in which Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is located. 3.1.1 Central Flyway Bird migration is the seasonal movement of birds between summer nesting habitat in Canada and the northern United States and wintering habitat in the southern United States and Central and South America. These movements generally follow regular routes called flyways. There are four administrative flyways in North America: the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific. Waterfowl and other birds pass over, rest, and utilize many refuges in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Refuge System throughout the four administrative flyways. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is situated in the middle of the Central Flyway. The Central Flyway spans the Canadian Northwest Territory, two Canadian provinces (Alberta and Saskatchewan), numerous countries in Central and South America, and 11 U.S. states: Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas (Fuller 2000). Of the approximately 151 national wildlife refuges and/or waterfowl management units located in the 11 states found within the Central Flyway, 36 are located in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, which are managed by the Service’s Southwest Region. Many refuges within the Central Flyway were established primarily for the protection and conservation of waterfowl and other bird species. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is one of eight refuges located within the State of Oklahoma. The Refuge provides valuable wintering habitat for waterfowl through the establishment of over 15 reservoir lakes and ponds comprised of nearly 800 acres of open water. These reservoir lakes provide habitat for resting, feeding, and breeding for many waterfowl species. These areas provide valuable habitat to sustain waterfowl and their energy requirements for spring migration and reproductive success. In any given year, ducks and geese utilize Refuge lake and pond reservoirs as wintering habitat. 3.1.2 Strategic Habitat Conservation and the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC) is an adaptive resource management framework for making management decisions about where and how to deliver conservation efficiently to achieve specific biological outcomes (see Chapter 1) (USFWS 2006). It provides an avenue for making strategic decisions and encourages constant reassessment and improvement. These critical steps aid the Service in dealing with a range of landscape-scale resource threats such as habitat Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge DRAFT CCP and Environmental Assessment 3-1 Chapter 3: Refuge Resources and Current Management fragmentation, genetic isolation, spread of invasive species, and water scarcity—all of which are accelerated by climate change. SHC incorporates five key principles in an ongoing process that changes and evolves: . Biological planning (setting targets) . Conservation design (developing a plan to meet goals) . Conservation delivery (implementing the plan) . Monitoring and adaptive management (measuring success and improving results) . Research (increasing our understanding) In April 2009, the Service, working with U.S. Geological Survey, initiated an effort to identify a national geographic framework for implementing SHC at landscape scales. The framework provides a comprehensive, landscape focused platform that extends nationally and globally beyond national wildlife refuge boundaries and Service jurisdictions. Within the scope of affected landscapes, the Service works with diverse partners to connect site-specific conservation efforts to broader landscape conservation goals, strategies, and outcomes. The Service used this landscape-level geographic framework as a base geography for identifying Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs). LCCs are developed on the foundation of Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC). LCCs are management-science partnerships between the Service, Federal agencies, states, tribes, local governments, landowners, and other organizations to facilitate resource management across broad landscapes. The LCCs provide a nationwide network of scientifically credible units that optimize conservation delivery for priority species and allow for analytical comparisons of conservation results across the network. LCCs provide a consistent context for conservation action at a landscape scale by considering the entire range of a priority species or suite of species. LCCs ensure that resource managers have the information and decision making tools needed to conserve fish, wildlife, and their habitats in the most efficient and effective way possible. LCCs consist of 22 broad geographic areas, which were developed by aggregating Joint Venture’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs) with Freshwater Ecoregions of the World and Omernick’s ecological units. BCRs are part of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative and are biologically-based, geographic delineations that represent long-standing partnerships to deliver avian conservation planning and design at the landscape scale. There are 67 BCRs identified, 35 of which fall entirely or partially within the United States (NABCI 2010). Similarly, Freshwater Ecoregions of the World are biologically-based units for aquatic species, and Omernick’s ecological units integrate diverse non-avian, terrestrial species needs. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge lies within the Great Plains LCC (GPLCC), with a geographic area that encompasses parts of eight states: New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. It falls along the boundaries of two BCRs: 18 (shortgrass prairie), and 19 (central mixed-grass prairie) (see Figure 3-1). The GPLCC boundary also corresponds with the administrative boundaries of the Playa Lakes and Rainwater Basin Joint Ventures. The Rainwater Basin Joint Venture is restricted to the BCR 19 portion of Nebraska, the remaining areas within BCR 18 and 19 are within the administrative boundary of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture. 3-2 Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge DRAFT CCP and Environmental Assessment U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Flyway, BCR, and LCC Comanche County, Oklahoma Canada ^_ Mexico Legend ^_ Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Major Central Flyway Routes Central Mixed-Grass Prairie BCR Great Plains LCC PRODUCED IN THE DIVISION OF REFUGE PLANNING 0 100 200 400 ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO Miles LAND STATUS CURRENT TO: 5/31/09 MAP DATE: January, 2011 Kilometers BASEMAP: N/A 0 100 200 400 MERIDIAN: N/A UTM ZONE 14 FILE: wmw_flyway_bcr_lcc_1.19.11_shl NAD 83 Chapter 3: Refuge Resources and Current Management Federal lands within the GPLCC include: Bureau of Land Management public lands in southeastern New Mexico, 11 Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service grasslands and forests in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska, and lands managed by the Department of Defense, Bureau of Reclamation, and National Park Service. State-owned lands are an important component of the GPLCC; many contribute habitats necessary to support priority species. The majority of the GPLCC area is under private ownership (GPLCC 2009). Numerous conservation partnerships exist within the GPLCC. The Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership within the states of OK and TX is formally recognized through the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, and multiple reservoirs in all GPLCC states are included in the Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership. Strong conservation partnership coalitions are associated with the Playa Lakes and Rainwater Basin Joint Ventures, including: The Nature Conservancy (TNC), State fish and wildlife agencies, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Partners for Fish and Wildlife program (GPLCC 2009). Utilizing State Wildlife Plans, and ecoregion plans developed by TNC and the Service, six landscapes have been identified as high priority landscapes within the GPLCC: (1) contiguous grasslands in the short grass and mixed grass prairies, (2) playa wetlands, (3) riparian streams, (4) prairie rivers, (5) Cross-timbers, and (6) savannahs, shrub lands, and sand dune systems. These landscapes, while not all-inclusive of the fish, wildlife, and plant habitats within the GPLCC area, represent important habitats for a variety of species (GPLCC 2009). The list of GPLCC priority habitats and associated species is summarized in the Table 3-1. Table 3-1. Priority Habitats and Species of the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative Habitat Priority Species Grasslands Burrowing owl, black-tailed prairie dog, American bison, American burying beetle, black-footed ferret, mountain